Committed is one man’s journey as he begins his residency program at Harvard Medical School. We learn about his struggles as a first-time resident through the life of his program and graduation. Throughout his studies, Dr. Stern and the other residents explore what being a psychiatrist means, and how to transition from clueless first year resident to seasoned professional. Dr. Stern had to learn the science of navigating complex human emotions and problems, for which an easy solution is never found in their textbooks.

He learns to use a combination of learning methods to become the best psychiatrist he can as he learns that no one really knows what they are doing, and the perception of success as a psychiatrist can shift greatly along the program. He also shares feelings of inadequacy as he struggles to understand and help every patient, and tries to define what helping a patient actually means.

Overall I loved the journey that Adam Stern takes us on during an insider’s look at the journey of becoming a psychiatrist. He also explores the idea of learning, and how we gain more competence and self worth as we go forward in our own journey along our careers—no one knows everything on day one! I’ll never look at psychiatry the same way again.

"Medical memoir" is quickly becoming a favorite genre for me. This book was a good glimpse into the life of a psychiatrist-in-training, both in terms of some of the patients he worked with as well as the lack of any sort of life outside of work. I just wish I knew more about the patients' outcomes, but I understand that the author himself didn't likely know, due to the nature of training and needing to move on to other rotations.

* Thanks to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Stern's memoir is a breezy read, telling the story of how he managed to get accepted as a psychiatrist in training at a hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School and what he experienced during his time as a trainee. At first, the young doctor feels intimidated and lonely in this new environment, and like most people starting complex jobs after a long and expensive stretch of highly theoretical training gets overwhelmed by the reality of his profession - so yes, the blurb doesn't lie when it connects the book to TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy", but the fact that Stern and his peers deal with mental disorders gives the genre a new, interesting twist.

Unsurprisingly, Stern finds comraderie and grapples with his self-image until he gains confidence and yes, there's a woman, yada yada yada. The whole love story, while apparently true, reads like the woman involved needs help herself, which I doubt was Stern's intention, and the last remarks about the suicide of another medical trainee who hasn't featured in the text once until then didn't sit well with me. Oh, and of course the whole thing will be turned into some kind of show, movie, web show...not that is has been announced already, but the book and its marketing are one major pitch.

But make no mistake, this text, while not the height of literary writing, reflects that its author is interesting and intelligent, and I had a good time reading it and pondering what it means to work in this field of medicine. Stern reveals how he struggles with the fact that psychiatry is no exact science, with the realization that he can't help everybody, and with the related feeling of not being good enough, and it reads like an honest and realistic account. So if you're interested in the profession, this is recommended reading.

Book Review for Committed by Adam Stern
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

Netgalley ARC. Adam Stern writes about his four years as a psychiatry resident at Harvard. Loved it but then I generally like medical memoirs.

Received an advance copy of this book from net galley. Interesting fast pace book about being a psychiatric student resident. Interesting learning about various treatments and what it is like great read

Committed by Adam Stern was an engaging read with an interesting perspective on mental health. E-books usually take me a lot longer to read than physical copies because my phone distracts me. However, this one hooked me from the first chapter and I read it within a few hours! Adam Stern's writing is hilarious, serious, and sad at times. This can be a tough read, depending on your feelings towards mental health. However, I think it is an important read, as it shows a different perspective on mental health issues. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Well written and engaging throughout the whole book. Such an amazingly fast ride through the life of a psychologist from student years through residency and the trials and tribulations of taking on your first clients. I just couldn’t put this down. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received an advance copy of, Committed, by Adam Stern. This book is about when Adan was a resident at a psych hospital. This book is very intense and insightful, and at times sad.

I was really hoping this book would be similar to Gottlieb’s “Maybe You Should Talk to Someone”— but alas, I love the premise, but the execution leaves something to be desired. Stern writes about having imposter syndrome, yet he unironically writes about being part of “the golden class” of students. (Yes. The golden class.) He also reminds us every other page that he was in residency at Harvard. I just don’t think Stern has enough life experience for a memoir; he even spends at least one chapter recalling a stereotypical trip to an all inclusive in Mexico. This won’t be a re-read, unfortunately. Thank you to netgalley and to Houghton Mifflin for the ARC!

So thrilled to receive an advance copy of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Dr Stern's writing style and am hopeful he will write more about his time as a psychiatrist after his stint as an intern. I love books written by medical professionals. It's an almost voyeuristic indulgence into something we'd never normally be privy too!

A quick read with insights into a plethora of disorders I've never even heard of.

Read this!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy in return for an honest and fair review.

As someone who has been seeing a psychiatrist for 10+ years and is also a Grey’s Anatomy fan this sounded like the perfect blend of interests and it delivered. I found it to be an interesting peak behind the curtain. I thought it did a good job balancing the more serious aspects of the job with the interpersonal dynamics and drama between interns. It was a quick read and I enjoyed it.

“Patients are people. We are people. Be a person with your patients, and you are already halfway there.”

‘Committed’ provides an overview of what it’s like to be a resident psychiatrist, from imposter syndrome to applying textbook knowledge to patients’ lives. Dr Stern was one of 15 residents in “The Golden Class” at Harvard Medical School, the “highest ranked class in the history of the program”. In this book, he explores the highs and lows of these four years in three Parts (years three and four are combined).

There was a greater focus on the other members of the class than I had expected. I loved Feelings class, where the residents were able to bond, process the emotions they experienced as interns and learn to “never worry alone”. I also hadn’t anticipated the amount of time dedicated to Dr Stern’s dating experiences during his internship. It was probably because of her name but it started to feel like I was in an episode of <i>Friends</i> when Dr Stern was figuring out if he should ever kiss Rachel. I did eventually get sucked into the ‘will they or won’t they?’ though.

“Always find out about the people behind your diagnoses. That’s the most important part of this whole deal.”

I enjoyed Dr Stern’s writing style and would be interested in reading about patients he treated after his time as an intern. I felt I got to know Jane reasonably well and loved her, although I’m not sure if it was because of or despite her constantly challenging Dr Stern.

When I read Lori Gottlieb’s ‘Maybe You Should Talk to Someone’ I couldn’t help becoming emotionally invested in the lives of her patients. While I was interested in Dr Stern’s other patients’ stories, I didn’t become invested in most of them. Much of this could be put down to the transitory nature of residency; oftentimes Dr Stern would be introduced to a patient, start to treat them and then move on to a new rotation, not knowing how the patient fared over the long term himself.

Content warnings include bullying, child abuse, death by suicide, eating disorders and mental health.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love the simplicity of this cover!

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love medical books like this. Books that have short stories or diary like entires from a medical field intrigue me soo much. This one was no different. The author did a great job educating you, keeping you interested, and adding a bit of humor in.

Overall, I'd definitely read more books by this author.

An interesting view into the process of growing into one's chosen field. I appreciated how the patients were described with compassion dignity.

When I saw this title, I knew I needed to read it immediately. [Thank you to Netgalley and HMH for the ARC!] I'm happy to say I loved it! This is the memoir of a man going through a residency training program in psychiatry, and it is compulsively readable. He writes with humility about the long hours, rotations, and feelings of being an imposter as a new doctor, and focuses on telling the stories of just a few clients with empathy for their challenges and humanity. "Oren" was my favorite. You also get to know a few of his residency classmates and instructors and see their relationships both at work and outside of it, and there's QUITE a bit in this book about his dating life. If I had one critique, it would be that the focus on his relationship was plentiful and at times struck me as annoying, but I can appreciate that being willing to include so much of his personal life enhanced the feeling of knowing him as a real person in this memoir too, and it gave it a bit of a "I know what's going to happen, but am I right?" mystery quality. I think how honest this book is made it stronger than similar titles I've read.

Committed by Adam Stern was an entertaining and thought provoking book. I thought of becoming a dr at an early age but quickly realized I wouldn’t be able to handle the hours or the years of schooling. I loved hearing how Adam felt throughout his journey during residency. I was also fascinated with the stories of his patients.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I loved following the journey of Dr. Stern and his schooling on the east coast to become a psychiatrist. I appreciated his honesty in sharing his journey and how at times he questioned his decisions. I don't think people realize how many years and how much time is spent to become a doctor. Dr. Stern makes it real and how his peers interact or sometimes struggle. I work in healthcare and will be recommending this read to my peers!

Committed is the memoir of Dr. Adam Stern during his four years of psychiatric residency at Harvard. It's an interesting story, and more than that, the story of one man's growth from an unsure first-year resident to becoming (somewhat) more sure of himself and his abilities to practice psychiatry. He also grows as a classmate, teacher, husband, and human being. It was surprising to me to read that even at Harvard, Dr. Stern and his fellow residents often felt like impostors and sometimes even failures when they were unable to help their patients. He comes to learn that the slogan "Never worry alone" told to the residents by their attending physicians is valuable advice.

"I knew I would never be the version of the mythical Harvard psychiatrist that had existed in my mind four years earlier. I had seen too many examples of shared humanity among the patients and those trying to help them to be hung up on formalities. The space where that psychiatrist has once existed in my mind had been filled instead with hard-earned truths about what it means to connect to those people around you, to commit to them, and to purposefully keep moving forward."

Those are words that all of us can live by whether we are psychiatrists, patients, or simply average people trying to maintain our connections with others.

Thank you to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book.

Do you like Grey's Anatomy and have a goal to read more non-fiction books this year? Then boy do I have good news for you; Committee by Adam Stern was fun and insightful. I loved hearing about his formative experiences in Psychiatry residency and what he learned from his patients. If you're considering med school, pick up a copy to get a real life view into what life after graduation is like.